New York Yankees

Speculation has been flying around about just how secure Don Mattingly's status is as the Dodgers' manager after he let comments fly about his team that may have been meant to inspire, but just kind of raised flags about how much disconnect their is in Los Angeles' clubhouse. As Eric Stephen of our SBN sister site True Blue LA discusses, Mattingly benched one of his stars in Andre Ethier, deciding that he felt like the team was better off without him in the lineup. The sense seems to be it's a matter of when, and not if. The Dodgers currently sit in last place in the NL West division, which is dramatically different than what everyone expected out of them after pushing their payroll to $217 million dollars by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, and Zack Greinke to compliment their roster that already contained Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp. For better or worse, a manager of an underperforming team is always the one that catches most of the blame. It's just the same as a manager receiving too much praise for a team that is exceeding expectations, like the 2013 Yankees. Stan Kasten, Dodgers president, says that Mattingly's job is safe, but if the team continues to struggle, how much longer will that be true? The Dodgers had a chance to extend Mattingly before the final guaranteed year of his contract began, but the fact that it didn't happen could indicate that people in LA aren't exactly thrilled with the job he has done. If the Dodgers do end up firing Mattingly, the timing would be a little interesting, considering that Joe Girardi is in the final year of his contract. The Yankee brass obviously preferred Girardi to Mattingly when trying to replace Joe Torre following the 2007 season. Since that time, Girardi has managed the team to another World Series championship and currently has a makeshift roster containing numerous castoffs and third-stringers sitting in first place in the AL East. Managers get far too much credit for what the players accomplish on the field, but if that's the criteria we are operating with, then Girardi's job as Yankee skipper seems safe. Donnie Baseball managing the Yankees would likely be a great representation of sentimentality for fans who grew up idolizing him, but would bringing him on as a manager really be in the best interests of the team? Joe Girardi has exhibited a fair number of flaws in his time as manager, but sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't; Girardi has proven to be less of a devil than some, despite what people say in the heat of the moment of a tough loss. It seems like a longshot that the Yankees would want to offer Don Mattingly a job after he was fired in LA if they didn't want to hire him over Girardi before he was seen as the captain of a sinking ship. Stranger things have happened, of course, but it would be pretty shocking to not see Girardi given a new contract when the season is over. Is that what you'd prefer, or do you want Donnie Baseball back in pinstripes? Would you have any concerns about Mattingly being the Yankees' manager after seeing his current situation with the Dodgers? Poll Should the Yankees be interested in Don Mattingly if he loses his job in LA? Yes No Maybe 3 votes | Results

Mark Teixeira is playing in an actual baseball game today. It will be an extended spring training game against a bunch of kids from the Pittsburgh organization, but still… for the first time since early March, he’ll step on a baseball field against another team with pitchers who’s only goal is to get him out. “We’ve told the Pirates, listen, even if you think about let me throw one up and in here to get him off the dish, don’t,” Teixeira said. “That’s the last thing we need.” Because this is extended spring training, Teixeira will get at least one at-bat in every inning until the Yankees decide he’s played enough (same for Kevin Youkilis). Teixeira will also play the field and run the bases. He thinks he’ll need just three extended spring games and two Double-A games before being activated. Why, after nearly three months, should Teixeira expect to be ready after only five games? “Sim games,” he said. “I saw 40 to 50 pitches every day for the last week. You can’t do that in a regular game. You could walk four or five times (if you did that) in a regular game. There’s a reason those kids are in extended spring training right now. We make sure in the sim games, ‘Listen,’ you tell the guys, ‘throw strikes, and try to get them out, but throw strikes.’ If there’s a walk then I keep hitting to make sure that I’m actually swinging the bat, and that’s been great. Those sim games are really valuable.” The time off has actually given Teixeira time to work through a sort of personal to-do list of sorts, making sure he was fully healthy and fully prepared as soon as he was cleared to swing. “The swing is really good,” he said. “One thing I’ve really concentrated on the last two and a half months is, any little thing that has been bothering me since college, I’ve taken care of. Little pains, little things where I’ve said, ‘If I ever have a lot of time off where I wasn’t preparing for a season, I would fix this.’ I’ve tried to really make sure that everything is working properly and my body feels good. I feel great right now. I can’t complain about that.” In those simulated games, Teixeira has basically tried for a 2-to-1 ratio of left-handed at-bats and right-handed at-bats. He bats lefty more often in the season, so he tries to do the same when he’s doing drills. If he had his way, Teixeira would have been playing in games several weeks ago, but the Yankees have given him plenty of time to leave no doubt — as much as that’s possible — that the wrist is healed. All that’s left are a few final tuneups, and those begin today. “I’ve been taking full swings, trying to hit the ball as far as I can, for a long time,” Teixeira said. “And I have been. I’ve been hitting the ball great for a couple weeks now. That’s all I’ve got. I’m swinging really hard and no problems.” Associated Press photo The post Teixeira: “Everything is working properly” appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants don’t get shut out at home very often. But when it does happen, Tyler Chatwood tends to be involved. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – New York Yankees News

It’s gotten to the point of ridiculousness, no? Just when the New York Yankees are getting positive injury news (more on that later), someone else has to go down with an injury. The New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays last night 9-3, but lost Curtis Granderson for at least one month with a broken pinkie knuckle, after he was hit by Cesar Ramos in the top of the fifth. Yankee starter David Phelps was also injured when a comebacker by Ben Zobrist hit him in the right forearm. Thankfully x-rays were negative and it is just a bruise. (more…)

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Eleven days after he returned from the fractured forearm, the Yankees lost Curtis Granderson to a fractured lefty pinky finger on Friday night. Cesar Ramos did the honors with an errant pitch in the fifth inning. The team won’t have a firm timetable for his return until a specialist takes a look at him on Monday, but it’s safe to say Curtis will miss several weeks. Maybe four, maybe six, who knows? If he can return before the All-Star break, I’ll be thrilled. For what it’s worth, Granderson was pretty upbeat following the game: “I bounced back from [the forearm injury], I’ll bounce back from this,” he said (via Mark Feinsand). “The hand is still on, it didn’t fall off. You can take a look at all the positives from everything. It’s a better break than the previous one, that’s a good thing, it should be back sooner than the last time so that’s a good thing. The team is playing well. Hopefully we come back and the team is right where we need it to be and continue to help this team move forward until the end.” The Yankees have been struggling to score runs this month (last night’s outburst aside), so losing Granderson is a pretty big loss when you consider that his replacement has stunk this year. It doesn’t matter if it’s Ichiro Suzuki, Brennan Boesch, or Ben Francisco. They’ve all stunk. Oh well, what can you do. We’ll all look back and laugh at this when the Yankees win the World Series. Here are some miscellaneous thoughts following the injury. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) 1. With Mark Teixeira due to start an official minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday, I think the Yankees should start working Lyle Overbay out in right field. Send him out to shag fly balls during batting practice and have him put in some extra work early in the afternoon, stuff like that, just to see if he can actually do it. He might be a Bobby Abreu disaster-level defender out there considering he hasn’t played the outfield since 2001 (25 games in Double-A), but it will keep him in the lineup against right-handers. Overbay could come out for a defensive replacement after six innings and ride the bench whenever the fly ball-prone Phil Hughes is on the mound, but they’d get to keep his bat around even after Teixeira returns. Given how little offense the current outfield options are expected to provide, spending the next week or so seeing in Lyle can handle right (the smallest part of Yankee Stadium) seems worthwhile. 2. I don’t think the Yankees will explore any trades to replace Granderson, not unless the specialist looks at his hand Monday and says he’ll miss the rest of the season or something like that. I’m sure they will monitor the waiver wire and stuff for small Alberto Gonzalez/Reid Brignac-esque moves that could provide a marginal upgrade, but I have a hard time thinking they’ll find someone better. Given how cooked Ichiro has looked, it might be best to start Boesch in right field and hope the bat clicks with regular playing time. Being a pinch-hitter and part-timer is hard, especially if you’ve never done it before. He could always come out for defense in the late innings, and his lack of a platoon split — career 109 wRC+ against lefties, 91 against righties — gives the team an excuse to run him out there every day. It’ll never happen, but I feel like Boesch deserves a shot given how terrible Ichiro (and Francisco) has looked. 3. Between the forearm and the finger, Granderson is going to miss what amounts to half his contract year. Does that make it more likely the Yankees will be able to retain him on a one-year “pillow contract?” He could come back to New York for a year, feast on the short porch and hopefully put up some more big power numbers before going back out on the free agent market after the season. I’d bring Grand

“Hercules”–Aaron Neville [Photgraph by Amy Fichter]

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 4-9 vs. Durham Bulls 2B Corban Joseph 3-5, RBI, K, E4 - fielding error, fourth of the seasonRF Brennan Boesch 0-4, RBI, BB, K - Welcome back to New York...LF Zoilo Almonte 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, K3B Ronnier Mustelier 1-5 - 14 for his last 47 (.298)1B Dan Johnson 0-3, BB, 2 KDH Thomas Neal 2-4, 2B, K - 11 for his last 33 (.333)CF Melky Mesa 2-4, KSS Alberto Gonzalez 0-3, BB, KC Bobby Wilson 0-4 Graham Stoneburner 3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K, HB - four groundouts, four flyoutsChase Whitley 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 KMark Montgomery 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R/0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K - 25 of 48 pitches for strikesClay Rapada 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BBSam Demel 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K The RailRiders tried to make it a bit closer with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but they couldn't hit enough to get them out of Stoneburner's mess. Whitley and Rapada also had a bit of a problem stranding runners, allowing three between them to score. Caleb Cotham starts for SWB today at 7:05 pm. Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 2-4 vs. Bowie Baysox LF Ramon Flores 2-3, BB, KCF Slade Heathcott 0-4, 2 KDH Tyler Austin 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB - third homer of the season1B Kyle Roller 0-3, HBP - batting .278 this season2B Jose Pirela 1-4RF Neil Medchill 1-4, 2 KSS Walter Ibarra 2-4, K, CS, E6 - batting .353 in limited time this season (hurt)3B Kevin Mahoney 1-4, 2 KC Nick McCoy 0-3, PB Zach Nuding 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, WP, HB - seven groundouts, three flyoutsAaron Dott 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 KBranden Pinder 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K - 11 of 15 pitches for strikes Trenton got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning, but the Baysox clawed their way back off Nuding, who is 1-6 with a 3.48 ERA this season. The undefeated (in Double-A) Mikey O'Brien starts for the Thunder today at 6:35 pm. High-A Tampa Yankees: W 4-3 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays CF Mason Williams 2-4, OF assist2B Angelo Gumbs 0-4DH Rob Refsnyder 0-4, 3 K - 6 for his last 40 (.150) with 11 KsLF Ben Gamel 1-4SS Dan Fiorito 1-4 - batting .297 this seasonC Francisco Arcia 2-4, K1B Casey Stevenson 1-4, HR, 3 RBI - first homer of the season3B Jose Toussen 0-2, BB, SB, E5 - throwing error, seventh of the seasonRF Eduardo Sosa 1-3, RBI, K Corey Black 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K - twelve groundouts, three flyoutsCesar Cabral 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 KTaylor Garrison 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB Stevenson hit his first homer of the year – a walk-off three-run homer for the Yankees, who out-hit the Blue Jays 8-5. Shane Greene gets the start for Tampa today at 6:30 pm. Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: L 2-12 vs. Greenville Drive CF Jake Cave 1-5, 2 K - batting .310 this seasonSS Claudio Custodio 0-3, 2 BB, K, SB, E6 - fielding error, sixth of te season1B Greg Bird 0-4, BB, 4 K, E3 - pickoff error, fifth of the seasonC Peter O'Brien 0-3, BB, 3 K, PB - fifteenth (!!) PB of the season3B Dante Bichette Jr. 3-4, HR - fourth homer of the season, ten game hitting streakDH Kelvin De Leon 1-4, KRF Yeicok Calderon 1-4, 2 KLF Taylor Dugas 1-4, 2B, K - 10 for his last 31 (.323)2B Fu-Lin Kuo 1-4, 2B, RBI, K Dan Camarena 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, WP - three groundouts, four flyoutsBrett Gerritse 3 IP 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 KAdam Smith 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R/4 ER, BB, 2 K - three groundouts, zero flyouts This one was pretty terrible from start to finish except for DBJ extending his hit streak with a solo homer. Cesar Vargas starts for the RiverDogs today at 6:05 pm.

David Phelps said the harsh reality hit him soon after the line drive. He’d just been struck in the pitching arm, he’d thrown his glove to the ground in frustration, and he realized he could be just another name on the long list of injured Yankees. “It’s one of those things that’s frustrating because of what’s been going on with our team, with everyone getting hurt,” Phelps said. “I was like, I don’t want to be the next guy.” The next guy, it turned out, was already facing his own harsh reality. Curtis Granderson has quickly become a perfect symbol of the Yankees unreal injury problems, and he’s now heading back to the disabled list with another broken bone. Exactly how long he’ll be out is still unknown, but it’s going to be several weeks, not several days. “I think our team has had a lot of practice at it this year,” Joe Girardi said. “So they’re prepared for this, unfortunately.” Are they really, though? Used to it, maybe, but it’s hard to be prepared for something like this. Friday seemed like such a good day, full of positives. Ivan Nova was off the disabled list, Mark Teixeira seemed nearly ready to do the same, Phelps was pitching well, and the offense was actually scoring runs in bunches. It seemed to be such a good day. Then it was just another day. “Sometimes you take two steps forward and a step back,” Girardi said. “Sometimes you take a step forward and three back. I don’t know which one we did tonight.” Associated Press photo The post Steps forward, and steps backward appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} What attracts a bean ball, Right upon the screw, Impact on the pinkie, With the knuckle black and blue,The Grandy Man, Oh, the Grandy Man’s hand.The Grandy Man’s hand, 'Cause we need another chanceTo make Ichiro look good. Listen: One could argue that over the last two years, there has been no darker Yankee nightmare than the continuing regression of Mr. Curtis Granderson Jr. Nearly every part of the guy has brought us eternal pain. For starters, he stands as living testament to the Yankee tradition of trading away great future talent for stars on the descent. Every time he marches back to the dugout after a strikeout - as he did 195 times last season - we can see the ghosts of Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy walking with him. In his first NY season, Curtis started slow and then pulled a hammy, gone for a month. Last October, the world watched him disassemble. And this year, his first spring training at bat breaks a wrist - and last night: Goodbye, pinkie. Out six weeks. Ugh.Poor guy. He never deserved this. A guy like Raul Mondesi - he deserved our scornful bile. Not Grandy. But his time with us is quickly running out. If Hal Steinbrenner was serious about cutting payroll, the Grandy Man was never going to return next year. This was his contract season, his last great chance to make a killing - the five-year-deal that sets his family up for life. (He's already done that, of course, but this would be his last and maybe greatest payday.) Now, he comes back after the All-Star break, feeling more pressure than ever on each increasingly overblown home run swing. And where will we be? By mid-July, Ichiro has either started to hit, or there is no place to hide his futility any more. By then, Vernon Wells could be running out of gas - the way Raul Ibanez did last year, when the guy signed as a DH was forced to play all those games in left field. By then, frankly, Brett Gardner will probably have jammed a thumb, simply because that's what Gardy always does.By then, we'll have turned over our infield, but who plays the outfield? Ben Francisco, I guess.Well, we're still in first. And if last night's injuries to Grandy and Phelps make it seem like we're under a curse cloud, the game - featuring the Artist Formerly Known as Fausto Carmona - exposed Tampa's underbelly. They have no second tier pitching. So hold on tight, folks. Here comes Brennan Boesch, joining Vidal Nuno, Preston Claiborne and Dave Adams. The Retrieval Empire is still going. Ben Francisco, it's up to you.

Yesterday on Pinstriped Bible Curtis Granderson fractures left hand after being hit by pitch Yankees 9, Rays 4: We still lose 2013 Yankees Mock Draft Discussion #2: Shortstops Ivan Nova and Chris Stewart return; Yankees lineup against Rays Yankees injury updates and depth chart battles Can Travis Hafner continue to produce? Masahiro Tanaka to post in 2014: Will the Yankees be interested? Baby Bomber Recap 5/23/13: Jake Cave picks up three hits in Charleston win Around the Internet Injury Woes Continue - Sports Illustrated | Cliff Corcoran: Now that Curtis Granderson is hurt again, take a look at all the Yankees on the disabled list and add up all the starts they have missed so far. Inconsistent - Pinstripe Pundits | Derek Albin: It seems that Phil Hughes' inconsistencies can be chalked up to inconsistent arm slots and release points which cause extra movement on his pitches that he doesn't want. Growing Pains - An A-Blog for A-Rod | Brad Vietrogoski: The Yankees' top outfield prospects are all struggling at the plate, but it's not all bad as they are still being patient and we get to see how they adapt in order to succeed. Receiving Skills - Baseball Prospectus | Ben Lindbergh: Chris Stewart talks about how he frames pitches, common mistakes made and evaluating a catcher's skill. How Have the Yankees Done it? - NoMaas | SJK: The Yankees rank near the top of the league in pitching and defense, but their offense is below average. Pitching Staff Improving - It's About the Money | Michael Eder: Austin Romine has a reputation for being an easy catcher to work with and good at calling games, but in a limited amount of time the pitchers have actually been more effective with him behind the plate. Quick Hits Mark Teixeira will begin his rehab soon and hopes to be back with the Yankees by the end of the week. Andy Pettitte will throw a bullpen today and is feeling good. Ex-Yankee Royce Ring has signed with the Long Island Ducks. There is an online petition to designate Ben Francisco for assignment. Phil Hughes made fun of Derek Jeter's "Philip" coffee cup by having his cup labeled "Sanderson." Buy Yankees Tickets: You can still get tickets to see the Yankees play the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Questions of the Day If the Yankees tank the rest of the season what one player should the Yankees trade off? Who should be the every day outfielder in Granderson's place? What are you doing this Memorial Day weekend? What is your favorite thing to eat during the summer? Coming Up Today Baby Bomber Recap 5/14/13: Dante Bichette Jr. homers to keep his hit streak alive @ 9 am Don Mattingly on the hot seat: Would the Yankees be interested in bringing him back to New York? @ 11 am Yankees draft news: Baseball America new mock draft, international draft and schedule @ 1 pm New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays at 4:10 pm (Game Thread at 3:30 pm)